Rapid take-off

摘要

The other thing I noticed about Merseyside's buses was the rapid departure from every stop. In most mystery passengering, marks are given for not leaving stops before people are seated. In some places you see this partially observed for obviously vulnerable people but in others everybody has to fend for him or herself. Merseyside is one and my home town, Worthing, with its elderly populace - I was somewhat surprised to be reminded on a recent visit - is another. We are really spoilt in Guildford where every driver watches his or her mirror until we are seated before moving off. It has become part of the culture, like switching engines off when loading big queues has in Oxford. It is interesting to see how both practices have very marginal effects on timekeeping.